Levin included the earmark in a 2009 spending bill for the "preservation and redevelopment of a public park and related business activities" in Corktown. He hoped to aid the conservancy effort to save a portion of Tiger Stadium and re-purpose it as a mixed-use development, but the City of Detroit rejected that proposal and completed the demolition.

The open-ended language of the earmark and the city's failure to approve any plans for the old Tiger Stadium site means the federal funds could end up going toward different projects in Corktown.

"Our fervent hope is that it's still used at the old Tiger Stadium site," Conservancy President Thom Linn told MLive.com. "But where it's used in and around Corktown is still to be determined."

Linn said the conservancy claimed the funds by successfully submitting a grant application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Development that "was consistent with the original plan for improvements for a public park and commercial redevelopment."

AP File PhotoTiger Stadium demolition began in 2008.

The federal obligation means the conservancy will spend a month or two finalizing plans to distribute the funds, and Linn said the group is "mindful of both community wishes and Senator Levin's sense of how to use the money."

The conservancy risked losing the funds entirely if it did not submit a plan by September 30, and Linn said he was pleased that HUD approved the proposal despite a lack of legal approval from the city to use the Tiger Stadium site.

"We've had a couple meetings with the Senator, and we're hoping to find an approach the city accepts," Linn said. "It may be that we'll need to muster public support for maintaining the site."

Tiger Stadium -- formerly known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium -- was the home of the Detroit Tigers until the team moved to Comerica Park for the 2000 season. The city completed demolition on the stadium in 2009 and recently rejected a promising conservancy-backed proposal for "The Corner Development."